Change
by pyrena93
Summary: Neal reflects on Kel's life and all the people she had impacted while she is injured. Set after Lady Knight. Songfic to "Change" by Taylor Swift.


So, I wrote this a couple of weeks back and finally decided to post it. I was listening to the song "Change" by Taylor Swift and couldn't help but fit Kel's life into the song. It is kind of a songfic about how she had affected everyone and changed everything at Haven and New Hope and beyond. It is set sometime after Lady Knight but that isn't really important. Change got stuck in my head and writing this helped get it out. Read and tell me what you think. Thanks.

Disclaimer- I don't own the song or the characters. Those belong to Tamora Pierce, Taylor Swift, and whoever wrote "Change".

-----

Neal sat there staring about his best friend. Kel had gotten injured fighting some Scanran raiders who didn't believe the war was over yet. She had been badly hurt and hadn't woken up yet.

Dom had offered to stay with her so Neal could sleep, but he refused. He kicked everyone out of the infirmary around midnight and sat down on the cot next to hers. He couldn't help but be worried about her and didn't need everyone in here watching him.

He eventually stopped worrying about her injuries and just thought about Kel. He had done all that he could and the rest was up to her. He knew in his heart that she would survive.

Kel was amazing. He loved her more than he loved his wife, but in a different way. He saw the way the refugees looked at her and saw the change in many nobles' feelings about commoners. He saw how she changed Dom and Lalasa and Peachblossom and Tobe and anyone who knew her. Kel was change.

He thought back to what had happened since they had been assigned to Haven.

-----

_Well it's a sad picture, the final blow hits you  
Somebody else gets what you wanted again and_

Kel had been crushed when she got assigned to Haven. She tried to hide it, but he could see that she was frustrated. After being her best friend for 8 years, Neal could see through her Yamani mask.

She hated being kept safe and out of the way. She wanted to be out there fighting Scanrans like a knight, not stuck babysitting refugees, and there was nothing Neal could do to help. He agreed with her though. Once again, Kel had been given second best.

_You know it's all the same, another time and place  
Repeating history and you're getting sick of it_

Lord Wyldon would never see her as a knight. He would always thing of her as a girl and would treat her as such. No matter how much Kel proved her abilities, people always said she wasn't good enough.

Neal still got angry thinking about Kel's probationary year and all of the nasty remarks she had endured since she was a page. Not that Kel would ever admit to being hurt, but she ahd to be tired of it all.

_  
But I believe in whatever you do  
And I'll do anything to see it through  
_

When Kel told him that she was assigned to Haven with him and Merric, she had her mask on. He knew that Kel would stand tall and proud, no matter what they threw at her.

She had stood up in front of the intimidating men of Haven that first night, and convinced them to believe in her. Kel had once told him while they were studying that she didn't like public speaking and that she didn't have any fiery speeches in her, but Neal could see it wasn't true.

Watching her up there, he could see the passion radiating off of her. She believed that she could do it and she made everyone else believe it to.

_  
Because these things will change  
Can you feel it now?  
These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down  
This revolution, the time will come  
For us to finally win  
We sing hallelujah, we sing hallelujah_

_So we've been outnumbered  
Raided and now cornered  
It's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair_

The refugees just poured into Haven in the first few months after the war started. More and more people arrived; people that had been uprooted from their homes and had seen horrible things. They were all tired and hungry and angry.

The knights were faced with impossible odds. How were they supposed to keep hundreds of refugees safe with so few soldiers? It was impossible, but Kel never gave up. He would have gone insane just thinking about running the camp, but Kel just accepted it with a smile and nod.

_  
We're getting stronger now  
Find things they never found  
They might be bigger  
But we're faster and never scared_

How do you keep refuges safe with so few soldiers? Turn the refugees into soldiers. And that is exactly what Kel did.

She organized the camp, raised morale, and turned the beaten refugees into a formidable defense. Kel was completely surprised by the change, too. She had mentioned at one meal that the refugees were walking taller, prouder, as though they were different people.

I had never thought of it before, but Kel was right. Once they could defend and protect themselves, it was like all their hardships melted away.

_You can walk away, say we don't need this  
But there's something in your eyes  
Says we can beat this  
_

The children of Haven made the biggest alteration. Most were small, undernourished, and terrified. By all accounts, they should have had it the toughest, yet they were the most dedicated.

While many of the adults whined and complained about practicing and doing chores around camp, the kids didn't care. They did more than was asked of them. He would never tell it to anyone, but there were the encouragement he needed.

He had never actually wanted to become a knight. That was his brothers' path, not his, but he had accepted his duty.

Watching the kids struggle through lesson and chores, without complaining or moaning about the lot they had been given, well it made him change his mind. Over the months they had been there, something developed in the kids. It was an inner fire, like Kel's, and it made them stronger than food and training ever could.

_  
Because these things will change  
Can you feel it now?  
These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down  
This revolution, the time will come  
For us to finally win  
We sing hallelujah, we sing hallelujah_

Tonight we stand, get off our knees  
Fight for what we've worked for all these years

When Stenmun had captured the people of Haven, Kel transformed. He had mocked her when she said she had a vision, but he was wondering if she was telling the truth.

As they followed the refugees into Scanra, he could tell she was different. It was like she had been asleep and had just woken up, for lack of a better way of putting it. Anyone who had doubts about following her to Scanra lost them.

When they had found the adults, he could see that they were different, just like Kel. They were stronger, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and were changed. They fought as nobly as the knights and soldiers, as though it was predestined.

_  
And the battle was long, it's the fight of our lives  
But we'll stand up champions tonight_

The struggle at Rathhausak's Castle had felt impossibly lengthy. He was terrified; for Kel, the children, the villagers, and the rest of Tortall. It had felt like the weight of all the realms was on their shoulders, and Neal didn't know how they had survived. But they did.

After Kel didn't come back from killing the mage, Neal had assumed the worst. He knew she would have checked on her people if it was the last thing she did.

When Dom came out of the castle carrying Kel, Neal felt like he was going to collapse. He had thrown all of his energy and attention into healing the survivors so that he wouldn't think about Kel, but seeing her body just pulled all the adrenaline out of him.

When he realized she was alive, Neal had laughed. He drew the stares of many survivors, but Neal didn't care.

He had been so tense and worried that he hadn't stopped to celebrate. It finally hit him that they had really won.

_It was the night things changed  
Can you see it now?  
These walls that they put up to hold us back fell down  
It's a revolution, throw your hands up  
Cause we never gave in  
And we sing hallelujah, we sang hallelujah  
Hallelujah_

Watching Kel breath slowly and deeply, Neal grew less worried. Kel was a fighter, a changer, and she wasn't through yet. The Protector of the Small had accomplished many great deeds, but everyone who knew Kel could see that she was just getting started.


End file.
